Community - Armenian Reporter

14 The Armenian Reporter | May 24, 2008CommunityA changing police forceThe Glendale PoliceDepartment isreaching out tothe Armeniancommunityby Alex DobuzinskisGLENDALE, Calif. – As theyrush to hire new officers to fill afast-depleting force, Glendale PoliceDepartment officials say theyare on the lookout for Armenian-American candidates – so the agencycan reflect the ethnic make-upof its city.But even as the department inthe last decade has drastically increasedits number of Armenian-American officers from three in1998 to 15 this year, those officersmake up only 6 percent of its force.In a city where an estimated40 percent of the residents are ofArmenian descent, the Police Departmenthas taken steps to recruitArmenian-American officers and toreach out to the community. Butpolice officials say their recruitmentis always bound by the needto get the best candidates – andthat they are competing with otherpolice agencies for a small pool ofArmenian-American candidates.“The department has recognizedthat in order to serve this community,we have to reflect this community,”said police Capt. Kirk Palmerof the Administrative ServicesDivision. “So I can tell you, fromthe chief on down, we’re committedto doing that.”As part of its effort to increase itsnumber of Armenian-speaking officers,the department has createda special hiring category for candidateswho speak a second language.Those candidates are evaluatedseparately from the larger pool ofcandidates who only speak English,which means that applicantsHamazkayin YerazDance Companyto hold annualperformance onJune 8by Alene TchekmedyianORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – Inspiredby classical Armenian dance,Pearlene Varjabedian alwaysinstructs her dancers to adopt asense of naz on stage and in theirdaily lives.“I always say to them, ‘When youwalk into a room you, will know whatit is to have naz,’” she said, describingit as an aura of coyness and modestyportrayed not only by twirlingone’s hands but also through one’sposture and personality.For the past two months, studentsof the Hamazkayin YerazSchool of Armenian Dance havebeen rigorously rehearsing nazbarand other classical dances for theirannual performance, which willtake place on June 8.Under the direction of Varjabedianand guest choreographer AraMelkonian, the 2008 recital isthemed “We Are the Future,” implyingthat to pass the art of Armeniandance to the youth is to preservehistory and culture for futureThinking about a career in law enforcement? The Glendale PD may have a job foryou.who speak Armenian or Korean getlooked at first, officials said.City Councilman Bob Yousefiansaid the department has changedin recent years by working hard torecruit Armenian-American candidates,despite a rigid civil-servicecode that makes for slow change.“I think it’s a far cry from what itused to be in the past,” Yousefiansaid. “I’m actually happy about thatat this point.”But Yousefian said he remainsconcerned that the hiring processis not completely transparent, especiallyat the oral-interview stageof the evaluation.“It’s a very subjective matter, andthat’s the problem I have with thetesting process,” he said. “A bunchof police officers get together andthey decide who’s going to be inand who’s going to be out.”At the request of the City Council,city auditors examined the PoliceDepartment’s hiring processbetween 2003 and 2005. The auditreport found no evidence of discriminationagainst minority candidates,but it dissected a rigorousscreening process that resulted ina hire rate of only 2.7 percent forCarrying the cultural torch through dancegenerations of Armenians. “We aretoday’s Armenian youth,” Varjabediansaid. “We have respect forwhat our people have been throughand we have pride in what we are.My dream for my children and forall Armenian youths is to carry onthe torch. I want to transfer mypassion to today’s youth.”Founded in 2003 by Varjabedian,a former dancer of the Sayat NovaDance Company of Boston, Yeraz hasgrown from an independent dancegroup of 15 dancers to a branch ofthe Hamazkayin Armenian Culturaland Educational Association, with35 dancers. Varjabedian explainsthat merging with Hamazkayin wasa decision based on the shared visionof promoting Armenian cultureamong the youth.The upcoming performance takeswhat Varjabedian describes as a“new age” approach to dance. Herchoreography juxtaposes classicaland modern techniques, which reflectsthe development and evolutionof Armenia and Armenian culturesince independence. “I implementmovements that are coy andproud,” she explained. “My inspirationcomes from not only what is inthe past, but also the future. This iswhat we were, this is what we are,and this is what we will be. Whateverit is we will be, we will alwaysmaintain what we were and are becausewe are proud Armenians.”Along with classical pieces, Yerazwill be performing a hip-hopThe Yeraz Dance Company on stage.variation to a song titled Yerazank– by the group Arevig, an Armenia-basedchildren’s choir. “In themiddle of the song you hear duduk,which gives it a new twist,” Varjabediansaid. “[The choreography has]some hip-hop movements andyou see classical Armenian movements.There is a New-Age rhythmand compilation of music.” For thispiece, the dancers will be dressed incargo pants, tank tops, and rhinestonebelts.These costumes are in sharp contrastto those of the rest of the show.For the traditional dances, the costumesare fully embroidered withgold fabric, lace, and headpieces.The girls add hair extensions to createlong, thick braids to fall downthe front of their dresses. “For eachdance, the costume is appropriatefor that dance,” Varjabedian said.The costumes correspond to thetraditional meaning behind eachall candidates, said Jason Bradford,principal internal auditor.Seven Armenian-American officerswere hired during that timeout of 173 who applied, which cameout to a hire rate of 4 percent, Bradfordsaid.The three-officer interview panelsthat evaluate candidates typicallyhave minority or female officerson them, said Lt. Todd Stokesof the Professional Services Bureau,who added that the interview processis fair.“I’ve been to Armenia, I’ve studiedthe Armenian language, and I’m ina good position, being in charge ofpolice personnel to oversee thingsand make sure there isn’t anythingbiased happening in our hiring process,”Stokes said.The department’s efforts to recruitArmenian candidates come asthe department has lost many officersto retirement in recent years.With 248 officers in total, the departmenthas ten vacancies and it’scompeting with other SouthernCalifornia police agencies for a limitedpool of candidates.As the department has soughtto increase its number of Armenian-speakingofficers, it has alsohired more Armenian-Americansto work in support-staff positions.The department has at least a dozenArmenian-American employeeswho are not police officers, Stokessaid.The department has many youngArmenian-Americans work as cadets,thanks to a program that allowsGlendale Community College(gcc) students to work for the departmentwhile going to school fulltime,officials said. gcc has a largepopulation of Armenian-Americanstudents, and officials say that programhas been especially successfulin recruiting candidates from theArmenian community.But the department continuesto be on the lookout for Armenianspeakingcandidates to fill positionsin communications, jail custody,and records – because thoseemployees interact with civilianswho often speak only Armenian.“We’ve probably been more successfulin the cadet program thansome of the other [positions], butwe’re rapidly gaining ground inthose other areas,” Stokes said.The department has taken othersteps to reach out to the Armeniancommunity.Armenian-speaking officers regularlyappear as guests on Armenian-languagecommunity-accesscable shows in Glendale.The department is also in theprocess of creating an English-languageoutreach video about lawenforcement and police-officer careers,which will be shown on Armeniancable shows.Within the department itself,officials have undertaken sporadicefforts to train officers about Armenianlanguage and culture, althoughthe department has notdone a department-wide trainingprogram specific to any one ethnicculture, Palmer said.An Armenian-American policesergeant with the departmenttaught officers under his watchsome Armenian terms during dailydance. “The meaning of each danceis powerful,” Varjabedian continued.“The girls feel exactly whatthey mean because when I teach, Itell my students what [the dances]mean.”Varjabedian said she has a strictstyle of teaching, intended to instilldiscipline. “They are taughtposture, how to walk, bow, to keeptheir shoulders down, arms up, andstomachs in,” she said. “The disciplinetransfers on to other thingsin life. [The students] are taught [todevelop a sense of] pride and selfesteemand to work hard.”Based in Orange County, Yerazhas faced challenges in terms retention,due to the fact that thelocal Armenian community is geographicallyscattered. Unlike inGlendale, where there are over 20dance groups within close proximity,students of Yeraz reside far fromone another. “Some of my studentsbriefings, and the department recentlyhad a one-day seminar forabout 35 officers that covered Armenianhistory, the Genocide, andthe significance of April 24.As officers have interacted withthe Armenian community in recentyears, they have encounteredone problem often associatedwith immigrant groups – the under-reportingof crime because ofa distrust of police, Stokes said.But he added that the departmenthas gained more trust in the Armeniancommunity by providinggood service.“We realize it takes time, butthere’s been a lot of progress, I’dsay over the last ten years, whereI don’t have the same feeling thatmany, many crimes are going unreported,”Stokes said. “Our workisn’t done in that area, but we’vecome a long way.”Another hot issue for Glendale’sArmenian community in recentyears has been resident complaintsagainst banquet halls, many ofwhich are owned by Armenian-Americans. But despite the criticismthe banquet halls sometimesreceive, Officer John Balian, aspokesman for the Glendale PoliceDepartment, said officers havebeen called to respond to only acouple incidents of fighting at banquethalls in the last year.Officials said that as they continueto build on the department’srapport with the Armenian community,the recruitment of Armenian-Americanswill be a key priority,because community membersexpect the department to have Armenian-speakingofficers.“These individuals are lookingfor a police department that is responsiveto their needs, that canspeak the language when necessary,”Palmer said. “In an emergency,mom might be at homeand can’t speak the [English]language, and in those cases it’sgood when we can deploy someonewho speaks the language andunderstands the culture.” drive 45 minutes to get to rehearsalbecause we are in such a spread-outArmenian community” Varjabediansaid. “It is hard to maintainbecause everyone has differentactivities and it is not a close-knitArmenian community due to thedistance.”Among other challenges are thebusy schedules of the youth, aseach dancer is involved in a varietyof extracurricular activities.Two months ago, Yeraz added amale element to the company. Theboys’ dances are choreographedby Melkonian. “He has strongArmenian technical movements”Varjabedian said, commenting onher collaboration with Melkonian,who is also the director of the ARADance Studio in San FernandoValley. “The partnership we haveis a wonderful mix,” Varjabediancontinued. “Each of us has beentrained differently, but we workvery well together and share ourvisions. Both of us are working towardthe same goal.”Melkonian believes communitysupport is crucial for fosteringa more serious environment foryoung dancers. “[The students needto] learn about their roots and cultureand become closer to their culture,”he said. “Every Armenian inevery art form should go down tothe roots.”connect:(714) 403-0875.